About the Issue
Happy 2014, and welcome to the first issue of the year! This month we put the spotlight on Chicago-based jeweler and Dremel Maker, Raven Locadia. Tackle a fun weekend project from DremelWeekends.com, rev up your engines for this year’s annual Derby Days Design Contest, and take a look at our list of the “Top 5 Uses for a Dremel Rotary Tool.”

We’re looking for the ultimate Pinewood Derby® racecars in our annual Derby Days Design Contest! Race over to our Facebook page to enter by Feb. 22, and you could win one of 11 Dremel Prize Packs.

Lowe’s Home Improvement stores are hosting nationwide hands-on demonstrations on select Saturdays through Feb. 15. Not only will you receive help designing your Derby car, but visitors will also receive a Derby Days patch and a 10 percent off Dremel coupon. Be sure to call ahead to your local Lowe’s to confirm the date and time of the demonstration. For more information, step-by-step instructions, and design tips and tricks, visit DremelDerby.com, and look for updates on our Facebook page.

Upload your final product to the Dremel Customer Creations Gallery for a chance to be featured in an upcoming issue! Be sure to check out other projects, too, to see how other fans are using their tools!

Spotlight OnDremel Maker Raven Locadia

To kick off a new year with some true crafting inspiration, we caught up with Raven Locadia, a fan of Dremel tools and an accomplished Etsy artist who creates beautiful works of jewelry, inspired by the preservation of all things rustic and natural.

What inspired you to start creating and crafting?
“I started creating when I was very young. I come from a very creative family, so I think it was inherent. My late aunt was one of the people who truly inspired me as a child, and as an artist herself, she always encouraged me to appreciate art. She always knew that I was going to be an artist when I grew up, even before I did.”

How did you start transforming your hobby into a business?
“In college, I extensively researched different mediums that were affordable to me at that time, like paper mache, objects from nature, macramé, and the use of fabric in jewelry. When I graduated from college with a degree in English and felt somewhat lost like a lot of post graduates, I worked in a restaurant and saved my money to buy good tools and materials to build my own studio. After one year of working long hours at my restaurant job and coming home at two in the morning to work on my jewelry, I finally got my first big wholesale order with a major retailer, quit my job, and moved to Chicago to start my business in the city.”

Do you often use Dremel tools in your work? Do you have an example of a project you worked on using a Dremel tool, and why it makes sense for your projects?
“I use a Dremel 8200 cordless rotary tool and the drill press for some light lapidary work, which consists of drilling into small stones with a diamond drill bit. It’s also a precursor to a lot of my projects that need to be hand sawed. For a few designs I imprint birch bark onto metal, which is then detailed with the Dremel cutting discs. The Dremel cutting discs are extremely important for my metalwork because they create a seamless finish and add a lot of detail to imprinting as well. They’re amazing for applying texture to any blank metal slate.”

What’s your favorite part about sharing your work?
“My favorite part about sharing my work is that it feels so natural and nothing is ever forced, so I feel that everything I make comes from a peaceful place for people to enjoy forever.”

Dremel.com is fully loaded with an array of useful new features! Visitors now have the ability to provide product ratings and reviews, making it easier for the Dremel community to learn about our tools and share feedback. What’s more, this added feature equips visitors with a whole team of enthusiasts to discuss tool solutions and more:

An updated homepage highlighting the latest news from our brand, product launches, promotions and new products

A new online chat portal that will allow page visitors to chat with Dremel customer service experts

New video content that inspires, instructs and educates visitors

Social shareable pages so visitors can share links to Dremel product pages via social media

Top 5 Uses

For a Dremel Rotary Tool!

There are endless projects you can tackle with your Dremel rotary tool, but here are a few of our favorites!

The five winners of December’s giveaway who will each receive a Dremel Saw-Max™ are: Lisa McManaman from Cary, IN; Steve Dadolf from Poway, CA; Adi Stelcer from Oak Brook, IL; John Brannick from Dayton, OH; and Linda Legg from Boca Raton, FL.

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who submitted entries!

The Dremel 4000 tool offers the highest performance and most versatility of all Dremel rotary tools. Whether you’re looking for a tool to carve shapes out of wood, or create a jewelry piece, this is the tool that can give you the most precise cut. Plus, this tool can be used with all of the Dremel accessories and attachments.

For a chance to win this tool, email us a project you’d like to tackle with the Dremel 4000. Within your message, please include your name, shipping address (no P.O. boxes) and home phone number in the body of an email, with “Dremel 4000” in the subject line. We’ll pick five winners at random and announce them in the February newsletter!